Channel Futures Presents the Most Influential MSPs of 2022
Featuring the companies and executives from our 2022 MSP 501 list who truly stood out and moved the needle this year.
December 21, 2022
Fifosys’ Patel is a force to be reckoned with in the MSP space, particularly in EMEA. He continuously helps businesses use technology to deliver their business goals.
Synetek Solutions‘ Herrera has a vision and insight into the future of VoIP technology that led to the establishment of the company and he has continued to be the driving energy behind its growth strategies. He oversees the product development team and collaborates with the leadership team in implementing tactical plans for the operational infrastructure, processes and personnel designed to realize the objectives of the company. Mayron directs the fiscal function of the company and ensures regulatory compliance obligations are met.
AKATI Sekurity’s Rajagopal, CEO, is one of the leading professionals in the information security industry with international recognition. Krishna’s tireless efforts to create an atmosphere of innovation, leadership and growth within the organization have made AKATI Sekurity an outstanding entity in the information security arena.
Under Kozak’s leadership, MNJ Technologieshas shown steady financial growth over the last 20 years, despite challenges in the economic climate. MNJ’s revenue jumped from $133 million in 2018 to $176 million in 2021. In 2021, Kozak led multiple initiatives to foster growth for MNJ, including expanding vendor and technology partnerships, expanding into new technology markets, increasing investments in marketing, and expanding MNJ’s sales talent. With these investments in place, MNJ is expected to continue with doubl- digit growth.
Danielle Carpenter, CFO/COO at Xceptional Networks, has been instrumental in building Xceptional into an award winning IT solution provider. Carpenter’s leadership influences every part of the organization as she directly drives Xceptional’s financial performance, spearheads and oversees various organizational efficiency and automation initiatives, is an advocate for the company’s brand within the market, and has been committed to deploying new technologies, processes and resources to improve and enhance the client experience and satisfaction levels over the last few years.
With three decades of expertise in telecommunications and technology, Jim Masterson, CEO of Lightedge Solutions, brings extensive leadership, insight and passion to his role. His vast experience has provided a deep understanding of and incredible foresight into major trends in wireline and wireless telecommunications, managed services, hybrid hosting and colocation. After successfully raising new capital and executing on a fresh vision and course for the organization two decades ago, Jim was able to establish LightEdge as the company you know today – a pioneer in compliant cloud and colocation.
Tim Pabich started Magnitech with the vision of greatness in all facets of the company. “Magni” is the Latin root word for “great.” From company culture to client success to scalability, the foundation of greatness has been the lead motivator. What sets Magnitech apart is its people. Tim has known from the start, that with the right people, his business will grow and scale organically. He has made strategic hires and created an executive team of individuals to move the needle forward. With a deep bench of talented individuals, Magnitech is built to continually scale alongside its growing clientele.
Ron Lovern, EVP at Triton Networks, is a digital transformation leader with the ability to understand, develop, implement and improve upon existing business resources and needs. A business performance enabler with the vision to create and execute successful road maps for future business needs and growth. As a direct result of Lovern’s innovation and leadership, Triton Networks has been able to realize new business growth opportunities with increasing revenue year over year while decreasing operating costs and improving company EBDTA positively by 20% each of the last two years.
In addition to the culture that has been built over the years Evan Desjardins, CEO of RoundTable Technology, decided to ramp up the company’s marketing initiatives in 2021. RoundTable has grown via word of mouth and referrals, all without having a dedicated sales and marketing team. In 2021 this would all change. Evan began the process of building two new teams and in the meantime started a branding campaign surrounding his success. In 2021, RoundTable Technology grew 12.5% from a $4 million company to a $5 million company, bringing the total number of employees to an all-time company high of 25. In addition, the company’s gross profit grew almost 20% in spite of its hiring initiatives and investment in sales and marketing. Evan has pushed the organization to focus on creating a better customer experience through establishing alignment checklists, ensuring improved communications and clear expectations.
Anthony Polselli, president and CEO of Natural Networks, had a mission to create a company that would help businesses grow and exceed their own desired levels of success by providing reliable network solutions, solid technology infrastructures, as well as friendly and professional customer service to clientele. His intention was to build relationships that would last a lifetime in the community as a trusted partner and managed provider solution. For the past 27 years, Anthony has worked hard to provide IT solutions to other business owners that accelerate their growth in their industry and, at the same time, provide them with worry and hassle-free assistance with their business technology.
Peter Fidler, president, WCA Technologies, has more than 34 years of industry experience and contributions. Throughout the years, Fidler has navigated the IT sector’s ever-changing tides with ingenuity and forged ahead into the unknown including four pivots and redefinitions of WCA Technologies, always seeking ways he might give back to the community. Peter is never satisfied with the status quo. He is continually on the lookout for new products and tools to leverage in creative solutions and “always looking for ways to be more efficient, protect our to create efficiencies for clients, and facilitate our clients’ success.”
Paul Kozak, president, COO and co-founder of MNJ Technologies, is an icon in the IT distribution channel. Paul is known for his integrity, intelligence and tenacity. During his 34 years in the IT channel, Paul has massively influenced the growth and success of two major service providers: CDW and MNJ Technologies. Paul helped build the foundation of what CDW is today, building the initial operations processes and team. Additionally, Paul led the development of a new training program entitled CDW University to help solve hiring and recruitment issues when the company was struggling to grow its human capital. Paul’s leadership and creative problem-solving skills became integral to the design and implementation of the program, which ultimately led to the exponential growth of CDW’s sales force. Today, CDW is a Fortune 500 company with 14,000 employees and $22 billion in annual net sales as of 2021.
Vinod Paul, COO at Align, has been a thought leader in the industry for over 20 years. He previously led and innovated a successful global MSP that he established as a premier MSP in the financial services space, and which was later acquired by a private equity firm. Vinod was recognized and inducted into the Forbes Technology Council, which is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). Recently, Vinod helped launch the cybersecurity peer group in April 2022 for Channel Futures.
Scott Hagizadegan, CEO of Shield IT Networks, helped Shield dodge many bullets in 2021, but also grew the company’s MRR by 54% and revenue by 147% to more than $2.1 million in its second year in business. The company’s success was not tied to any specific marketing campaigns, but to applying other key success strategies that helped it not only survive but thrive in 2021. The company did this by growing its existing client revenue and attaining some incredible new significant partnerships that will bring about even faster growth.
Cyberattacks have increased in number and severity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition to remote work and exploitation of remote access was the root cause. Under the innovative vision of Michael Benadiba, president and CTO of MBC Managed IT Services, MBC rolled out highly secure remote access solutions and VPN technology to all clients. As a strategic thinker, Benadiba expanded the company’s network operations center (NOC) to also include security (NSOC). Typical MSPs do not have a dedicated SOC team, but MBC evolved into a new generation of MSPs with the network/security operations center (NSOC), transitioning the company into a managed security services provider (MSSP). Benadiba’s focus on delivering “delightful IT” and continuously improving the range and the quality of the services that the company provides has allowed MBC to grow steadily over the past 20 years.
Leah Freiman, CEO of ITCon, is known for her dedication, achievements and leadership in cybersecurity. Freiman founded ItCon Inc. after the former ownership of a small computer repair company with her husband alerted her to the dangers posed by cyberattacks. This prompted her to make the transition to cybersecurity.
Paul Cronin, CEO of Apogee IT Services, has 40 years of leadership experience as an IT services leader. An executive and owner, he is skilled in all aspects of service leadership, sales and business development. He is committed to delivering the ultimate client experience, both internally with employees and with clients and partners at every touch. Cronin is also committed to enabling clients to see a clear path to maximizing their investment in technology and creating transformational change for their business. With years of experience fusing business with technology, combined with a passion for understanding new technologies, Cronin shares his progressive thinking with clients to enable them to act with confidence.
Neil Medwed, executive director of strategic partnerships and M&A at Meriplex, has more than 39 years in the technology and managed services provider industry. He has been instrumental in acquiring 10 quality managed services providers throughout the U.S. in less than two years, with many more to come. In addition, because of his deep and long-term relationships with high-level executives of manufacturers and distributors in the technology space, he works with top-tier vendors to strategically align with Meriplex’s interests. Medwed speaks at technology conferences, both on panels and leading breakouts, and sharing his knowledge and experience.
Jason Rinker, sales director at Stronghold Data, is a highly recognized business professional with proven ability in transforming vision into action and achieving results quickly. He is a proven leader when transforming vision into reality through effectively forging and managing internal and external relationships while maintaining a laser focus on corporate growth goals. He is skilled at attracting and developing successful business relationships with key executives, partners and clients. Rinker is an energetic business leader with an exceptional level of enthusiasm, honesty and integrity. He is also on the Channel Futures MSP Advisory board and has participated on panels and boardroom discussions.
Sunny Kaila, founder and CEO, IT By Design, has built a thriving MSP business alongside his wife and business partner, Kam. ITBD is grounded in honesty, hard work, customer service and genuine partnership. Kaila leads the company with a mindset that sees opportunity where others see hurdles and isn’t afraid to embrace thoughtful risk when the time comes to make a leap of faith. Kaila challenges his entire team to think beyond what is happening right now, seeking the next innovative approach to every aspect of the business — from marketing to customer experience to operations. Perhaps equally as important as encouragement for his team and peers to embrace change, Kaila walks the talk — leading the business’ adoption of EOS and holding true to the tenets of that system to help drive efficiency in his burgeoning business. He advocates an open door policy across ITBD’s leadership team, willingly answering any and all questions during town halls.
Sunny Kaila, founder and CEO, IT By Design, has built a thriving MSP business alongside his wife and business partner, Kam. ITBD is grounded in honesty, hard work, customer service and genuine partnership. Kaila leads the company with a mindset that sees opportunity where others see hurdles and isn’t afraid to embrace thoughtful risk when the time comes to make a leap of faith. Kaila challenges his entire team to think beyond what is happening right now, seeking the next innovative approach to every aspect of the business — from marketing to customer experience to operations. Perhaps equally as important as encouragement for his team and peers to embrace change, Kaila walks the talk — leading the business’ adoption of EOS and holding true to the tenets of that system to help drive efficiency in his burgeoning business. He advocates an open door policy across ITBD’s leadership team, willingly answering any and all questions during town halls.
It’s time once again to highlight the industry leaders and managed service providers (MSPs) who demonstrated steady leadership and truly moved the needle this year.
There are a great number of partners within our MSP 501 list (and in general) who deserve to be recognized and applauded for their efforts. This spans the gamut. These businesses and individuals have proven excellence in business efficiency, agility in the face of an evolving market. They have also led their organizations through one of the most tumultuous periods of time in recent history. For all of these reasons and more, these businesses, and their leaders, deserve a huge nod.
To narrow down our choices for this list, we looked at our 2022 special award nominees and winners. We also looked at the broader swath of 501ers. This award aims to highlight the extraordinary individuals who set their companies apart from the rest. For this list, we dove deep into the achievements of organizations’ top executives and what distinguishes them from others.
These were the partners who demonstrated true influence and leadership in terms of marketing prowess, customer experience, financial success, operational efficiency and community service.
Thus, we are proud to present our list of the most influential industry leaders and managed service providers of 2022.
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